IT'S UP TO MODERATE DEMOCRATS

THE HARTFORD COURANT

In his increasingly frantic search for a health care package that is politically acceptable, President Clinton is in danger of embracing proposals from Democratic congressional leaders that are off the mark.

The proposal of House Majority Leader Richard A. Gephardt, which Mr. Clinton has praised, starts off on the right foot. It calls for universal coverage by making employers pay most of the cost of their workers' insurance. But it would put the poor, the unemployed and others without private health insurance under an expanded Medicare program that would distort the health care system still further. It isn't as if the government has run financially strapped Medicare well.

In an attempt to placate small-business owners, Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell offered a plan Tuesday that would start off by not requiring employers to pay their employees' insurance. Mandatory coverage could kick in after the year 2001 if not enough workers were covered voluntarily by their employers.

National health insurance, by definition, must provide a basic package of care to everyone. Coverage must not depend on employment status, age or anything else. To be financially viable, the cost of universal care must be shared by every employer and worker, as is done in the rest of the industralized world.

Nearly 35 million Americans are without coverage at some time during the year. Additional funds from cigarette taxes and other levies would be needed to bring these people under the universal umbrella. Unless everyone is covered, the soaring price of health care cannot be controlled.

Mr. Gephardt and the House leadership would perpetuate one of the most money-wasting aspects of the present system -- the massive cost- shifting that occurs because Medicare and Medicaid do not pay the full health care expenses of their patients. The losses incurred by doctors and hospitals treating the elderly and the poor are tacked on to the bills of those with insurance.

Mr. Mitchell predicted at least 25 million more Americans would obtain coverage under his proposal. Many employers, under the threat of a future mandate, would begin to provide insurance. Federal subsidies of low-income families and for children and pregnant women would bring insurance to still more people. By the turn of the century, if coverage has not increased from its present 85 percent to 95 percent of Americans, Mr. Mitchell's plan would require most employers to pay half the cost of their workers' health insurance.

The majority leader was correct in calling his proposal a good starting point for congressional negotiators. His bill is sounder than that of the House leadership's.

As for the Republicans in Congress, they can be expected to say no to anything proposed by the majority party. History will not remember kindly those who say no to health care reform at every turn. It will be up to Democratic moderates, such as Joseph I. Lieberman of Connecticut, to give life to a health care package that goes a long way toward covering all Americans, tames costs and minimizes government intrusion.